


Birthday Crown

by unfoldingbliss



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 12:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2348450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unfoldingbliss/pseuds/unfoldingbliss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But, if memories were all she would have…perhaps there was something he could give her after all. [Gregor/Nowi]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Crown

**Author's Note:**

> A few days late, but I still wanted to write something for Nowi’s birthday. Anyway, enjoy!

Gregor wondered what he could offer Nowi as a birthday present.

She wasn’t particularly into material items – she had her one diadem and pendant, her outfit for battle and her outfit for camp, her cloak that coupled as a blanket, and of course the glimmering green dragonstone that she carried in the pouch tied around her belt. Besides that, all she had acquired over her stay with the Shepherds was an old dress from Maribelle and the ring Gregor bestowed upon her in his fumbling proposal, its large emerald mirroring the colors of her dragonstone. Gregor remembered that after Nowi’s incessant teasing ceased and his cheeks finally returned to their normal shade, his wife-to-be kept glancing down at her new possession; she marveled the ring's shine and placed it upon every one of her tiny fingers, giggling as it flickered against the sunset.

Her cheeks had been so pink, her laughter so infectious Gregor couldn’t help it when he swooped down to kiss her again, his heart continuing to swell with joy as she smiled and sighed against his lips. Small hands had tugged at his hair, soft arms had rubbed against his neck…he had no shame in admitting that that day had been one of the very best in his life.

But, after such a wonderful moment, what else was there to offer her? They trained and played and ate and slept together every day, and it was endearing how she never seemed to tire of him or his unusual antics. She snuggled into his chest every night and whispered ‘ _I love you_ ’ before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, never bothering to wait for a reply. Either because she knew the answer or that it might take Gregor an hour or two to sputter out his affections. Even if they’d been married for over half a year now, he still had a hard time telling her how much he cared for her. He was a man of action; not so much of words.

Which led him back to his current predicament: if she was a woman that lacked material want, and he was a man of action, just what could he do to make this birthday one of her very best?

He thought of their first days together, when she knitted him a sweater lined with scales off her back, her very own token of gratitude for saving her in her time of need. His mind drifted to their times out on the battlefield, fighting side-by-side, playful banter spilling from their mouths and laughter ringing from their throats at every opportunity. Their constant playdates, their nights spent watching stars and talking about their lives before they had met the other…

Nowi had asked him to live as long as he could; and while she had said it with such a sweet laugh and earnest smile, he could still recall the tears rimming the bottom of her eyes and the slight waver in her pretty voice. She was scared he would leave her all too soon, and as much as it pained Gregor to admit it, she was right. She would blink and he would be gone, leaving her with only memories and a glistening emerald ring for the rest of her long, long life.

But, if memories were all she would have…perhaps there was something he could give her after all.

“ _Gregoorr_ , the sun’s not even out yet,” Nowi whined as she woke to the sound of her husband shuffling around their tent, “And we don’t even have to march today. What are you doing?”

“Come, Nowi, change and eat,” Gregor replied, crawling back towards their bed and kissing the top of her forehead, “We must get ready for the most special of the days!”

“Most special of the…” it took her a moment or two to catch on, but her eyes soon brightened and her lips burst into a huge smile, “My birthday! You have a surprise for me, don’t ya? Tell me what it is – c’mon Gregor, tell me!”

“Patience is virtue, Nowi!” Gregor laughed at his wife’s begging, watching her scramble out of bed and latch onto the ends of his pants, “Worry not – Gregor do all the walking and Nowi can sleep on his sturdy back! Surprise be here in no time!”

Nowi frowned, but accepted his reply. She stood up and shifted out of her makeshift nightgown – an old red tunic Gregor had never bothered throwing out – an into the only dress she owned. It was a simple pink frock that Maribelle had given Nowi on her first night with the Shepherds, insisting that the manakete change out of her ‘ _sopping wet and bloody clothes_ ’ and into attire more appropriate for a ‘ _darling young lady_.’ Even with Maribelle’s petite form, the dress had still been too large and wide for Nowi; so, Maribelle had trimmed the hem and shoulders while Lissa had given her a thick, white ribbon to tie at the waist. It was one memory Nowi liked to recall often while in Gregor’s company, going on and on about how nice their new friends were while she fiddled with the front of her skirt.

And he hoped, in the years after this day, Nowi remembered it was that dress she wore as Gregor trotted towards her surprise.

When Nowi was ready and Gregor had stuffed everything they would need in a large basket Cherche had so generously supplied him, he hoisted Nowi onto his back and walked towards the lush forest near the campgrounds. No one except a few night guards and Frederick seemed to be up, and both Nowi and Gregor offered them a good morning before their forms blended with the trees and vanished from their view.

It wasn’t long after when Gregor felt Nowi’s head completely slack and rest against the back of his neck, her clasped arms bouncing off his collarbone with every step he took. Her breath was even and light and her legs dangled from his forearms, occasionally kicking him in the stomach every now and again. Not that he minded, however. It was just another reminder of how much she trusted him, how far they had come since their very first meeting. Then, she had been frightened and aggressive, believing him to be just like every other man that had chased her down. Now he would argue that she trusted him above all else, and the very thought thrilled the core of his body, soft goosebumps prickling against his clothes.

When they arrived at their destination – a clear meadow with a plethora of yellow and purple wildflowers springing from all across its field – Gregor set down his basket and slung Nowi into his arms, coaxing her awake with a brief kiss, “Nowi, time for the waking. Gregor wants you to see your surprise.”

Nowi furrowed her brows in response, her nose flaring as her eyes fluttered open to take in Gregor’s beaming face. It took her a few more moments to recollect that they weren’t inside their tent, snoozing the morning away, “Gregor…where are we?”

He waited until she yawned and stretched out against his chest, making his heart skip a beat in anticipation, “Come now, Nowi. You may be old crone, but your memory much better than that! Look, look – the most happiest of birthdays will be here!”

“Huh?” Nowi turned away from Gregor and looked onto the meadow before them, clear and free of any other human or manakete as far as the eye could see. The wildflowers rustled as a zephyr flew across the field, accentuating the contrast between the tall green grass and the clear blue sky above. In less than a second, Nowi jumped out of Gregor’s arms and onto the field, her eyes wide and her body rendered to a cheerful daze, “This – this place is beautiful, Gregor! How did you know it was nearby?”

“Gregor go searching, of course!” he smiled and joined his wife in her gawking, happy that she was already enjoying herself, “Had to find perfect place for you to fly around after we are done with the eating.”

“Ooo, yes! Let’s eat!” Nowi’s smile wedged deep into her cheeks as she took Gregor’s hand and searched for the perfect picnic spot, humming a tune that Gregor was unfamiliar with. Either she had made it up, or it was a melody from years ago, something only known to the manakete before him, “I’m sta- _ar_ -ving!”

They strolled across the field, Nowi practically skipping while her free hand picked at every flower her fingers brushed. Soon, the stems of her large, colorful bouquet were wound tight inside her small fist, a jubilant “Hah!” escaping past her lips. She stopped and looked back to her husband, stomping one foot hard into the ground, “Here! This is the perfect spot for a picnic.”

While it didn’t seem like the ground and grass they were standing on was any different than the spot they had left, Gregor was inclined to agree. He nodded his head and settled the basket on top of the grass, taking out the large checkered blanket folded into its side, “What excitement! Gregor’s wife not only beautiful, but smart and resourceful as well!”

“Ahh, thank you!” Nowi giggled, plopping herself onto the blanket as soon as Gregor has laid it out. Her eyes widened and her body lunged forward as she studied the food Gregor set out on the blanket: thick slabs of juicy ham and tender steak, a fat loaf of sourdough bread, an assortment of berries and other fruits, and a tray of Lissa’s homemade honey cakes, their tops sprinkled with confectionary sugar. Nowi’s mouth began to hang agape, her hands clasped close to her chest, “It looks _sooo_ good, Gregor! All my favorite stuff is here. Can we eat it all now?”

“Of course!” Gregor exclaimed as he sat down next to her, offering her a branch of plump green grapes, “Would not want wife to starve any further! Go on – eat, eat!”

Nowi yelped in glee and snatched the branch from his hands, stuffing the fat grapes into her mouth. He laughed as she continued to grab whatever food was closest to her. Her sharp teeth sunk into the thick meat and bit off a wad of bread within moments, her instinctual dragon appetite truly getting the best of her. Not that Gregor cared – he knew of everything she was upon marrying her. An eccentric old crone with the body of a barely-pubescent girl that could, at any given moment, transform into a gigantic, ferocious beast, ready to tear apart anything that stood in her and her husband’s path.

And so, as she shuffled another honey cake passed her lips and licked every little crumb off her face, Gregor gathered the flowers she had picked and weaved them together, forming a crown of two dozen wildflowers. It was something he had seen Sumia prepare on a day of recuperation and intrigued by her warm smile and soft humming, he sat beside her and asked what such a ring of flowers was for.

_“Oh, it’s just something little girls put on their heads when they want to play pretend,” she had replied, her eyes drifting off, her vision perhaps clouded by idle fantasies, “When they want to be a princess or a queen or just – anything they’re not really.”_

_Gregor had crooked his head. A thought soon crossed his mind, and he didn’t have enough tact to keep it silent, “…Are you wishing to be princess like Lissa? Or maybe…to be queen of Chrom?”_

_Sumia, instead of blushing or stammering as Gregor would have assumed, turned her head to him and smiled, her eyes a bit darker than they were before, “That’s what I thought I wanted to be. But I know there’s someone else he loves more than he could ever love me, and I will not stand between them.”_

_“So why do you make these crowning of the flowers?” Gregor asked, confused._

_“Because I can still pretend every now and again, right?” Sumia’s smiled widened as she held a few stray flowers up to his face, “Do you want to learn how to make them? I’m sure Nowi would love one.”_

_It is good she found happier place,_ Gregor thought, recalling the pleasant wedding she and that ill-humored knight had had a few months ago. Still, it had not been as thrilling and joyous as his own wedding, with he and Nowi smashing through wine glasses left and right, leaving their fellow Shepherds an exasperated mess. No wedding could hold a candle to his; and no wife, for that matter.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna eat too?” Nowi asked a few minutes after he had completed his task. Half of the ham and bread remained untouched, a few pieces of fruit and one sole honey cake scattered across the ends of the blanket, “I don’t want you fainting on me, gramps!”

Gregor frowned, his brows furrowed, “Oy, how many times must I say I am not this ‘gramps?’ Gregor still a sturdy and handsome husband, yes?”

Nowi rolled her eyes and shoved a piece of bread into his chest, the slightest of blushes dusting her cheeks, “Well duh, I wouldn’t be married to you if you weren’t! But you gotta eat or else were gonna be stuck in this meadow forever!”

“But Nowi can fly us back, no problem!” Gregor replied before taking the bread and devouring it. His stomach growled in satisfaction, and he realized he had yet to eat since last night’s supper, “Unless she enjoy sleeping on Gregor’s back? Hmm?”

“Duh, again!” Nowi snapped, though her grinning lips betrayed her voice, “You’re my husband – why wouldn’t I enjoy that? It’s nice to feel like a princess sometimes.”

“Oh, so you think you are princess while I am shining knight?” Gregor leaned forward, the whole of his torso towering over Nowi’s slight form, “Good, good! Then Gregor is glad he make this for you.”

Nowi blinked as Gregor turned away from her, twisting his body so he could grasp onto the delicate flower crown behind his back. When he presented it to her, she blinked again, unsure of what it was.

“This is a crown of flowers!” Gregor turned his body yet again so his shoulders were parallel to Nowi’s, his hands and the crown fixed above her heads, “Girls use it to feel like princesses, and since Nowi is Gregor’s beautiful wife, he thought it the best birthday gift of all.”

He gently pressed the flower crown on top of her head, smoothing her hair and pushing her bangs over the top of the ring so that it remained secure. Gregor’s hands dropped to his sides and his eyes stayed fixated on his wife, watching with the faintest swell in his heart as she poked at the flowers in her hair.

“I…” Nowi trailed and blinked once more, her lips puffed upward and her nose scrunched in thought. For a moment, he thought she might not like it – perhaps she thought it too childish even for her, a woman who still played house and chased around children from nearby villages.

But then her eyes brightened and she threw out her arms, lunging forward and wrapping the entirety of her form around Gregor, “I love it! Thank you, thank you, _thank you_! You’re the best husband any princess could ask for!”

Gregor’s heart leapt and his stomach burst into a thousand butterflies, proud and happy that his wife adored what he had offered. It assured him that this, like the day he proposed to her, would be another memory she forever kept and cherished. Something to remember as the years rolled by and he was no more than a footnote in some dusty history book.

When she was finished squealing her delight and adorning his lips with sloppy kisses that tasted like sugar and steak, Nowi leaned away and cupped his face, a mischievous glint flickering across her eyes, “So, as princess-for-the-day….do you have to do whatever I say?”

Gregor laughed and shrugged, pulling her back into his frame and kissing the top of her head, “Gregor do so already – but he make sure to be extra obedient on wife’s most happiest of birthdays.”

“Great!” Nowi exclaimed as she jumped up and wedged her fists into her hips, “Because you’re totally giving me a piggyback ride right here, right now!”

And true to his word Gregor, husband to the mighty and bizarre Nowi, obliged.


End file.
